Receipt from Glacier restaurant
Datec 1939
Object number00015930
NameBill
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 138 x 110 mm
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Walter and Jean Lederer
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
DescriptionA receipt from the 'Glacier' restaurant in Toulon, France.
As the scale of Nazi persecution against the Jews escalated prior to the outbreak of World War II, Arthur Lederer and his family fled Austria via Czechoslovakia and Great Britain. They travelled to Australia on SS ORAMA. The ship's first port of call was Toulon, France, where Arthur, his wife Valerie and their son Walter disembarked to dine. This receipt from the Glacier restaurant served as a reminder of the family's voyage and the ports of call on the journey to Australia.HistoryBorn in Vienna, Austria in 1889, Arthur Lederer was a talented tailor who made gala uniforms for European royalty and high society. On the eve of Adolf Hitler’s march into Vienna in March 1938, Lederer was working on Archduke Otto of Austria’s crowning robes, believing that the exiled monarch would return.
In November 1938 Arthur Lederer, his wife Valerie and their son Walter attempted to escape the escalating Jewish persecution in Nazi-occupied Austria. They travelled by taxi from Vienna to the Austria-Czechoslovakia border but were held up by the German Gestapo and thrown into jail. They were released after three days and returned home to Vienna.
Four weeks later they made another attempt to escape. The family purchased passports in December 1938 and travelled by Austrian Airlines to Prague, Czechoslovakia. The League of Nations (forerunner to the United Nations) issued them with Nansen passports, an internationally recognised identity card provided to stateless refugees.
Arthur then started appealing to his well-connected clients for help to escape Europe. Most clients did not respond, perhaps fearing they would be persecuted by the Nazis for assisting Jews. Eventually Lady Max Muller, wife of the British Ambassador to Spain, provided them with tickets to Australia and the £300 arrival money required by the Australian Government.
The family travelled to Australia on the Orient liner SS ORAMA, which departed Toulon, France on 17 June 1939. ORAMA stopped at Naples, Italy, Port Said, Egypt, Aden, Yemen and Colombo, Ceylon before arriving in Fremantle, Western Australia. From Fremantle the Lederers sailed to Sydney, where they began their new life in Australia.SignificanceThe story of the Lederer family provides a glimpse into the experiences of Vienna's Jewish population and illustrates the tortuous journey many emigrants were forced to undertake in order to find safety. This restaurant bill represents the story of the family’s flight from Nazi-occupied Europe. It is illustrative of the broader experience of many displaced persons coming to Australia as a result of World War II.
